VEF I-16
{{short description|Latvian fighter prototype}}
{{Infobox aircraft
|name =VEF I-16
|image =vef_I_16.jpg
|caption =
|type = fighter
|manufacturer = Valsts Elektrotechniska Fabrika (VEF), Riga, Latvia
|designer =Kārlis Irbītis
|first_flight = 1940
|introduction =
|retired = 1942
|status =
|primary_user =
|more_users =
|produced =
|number_built = 1 (in some sources 3)
|unit cost = 130,568 Lats (about $27,000 US)
}}
The VEF I-16 was a prototype Latvian fighter aircraft designed by Kārlis Irbītis and produced by VEF in 1939. Development was halted by the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 and the subsequent purge of VEF personnel.
Description
The I-16 was of conventional monoplane layout with a Walter Sagitta supercharged air-cooled V12 engine of Czechoslovak origin, a two-bladed propeller and a low-set wing with rounded wingtips. The prototype had fixed undercarriage with aerodynamic fairings, but production models were to have retractable landing gear. The cockpit seat and controls were designed as one unit - they could be assembled totally separately from the rest of the aircraft and then installed as a unit with only six bolts.
While the prototype was unarmed, there were provisions for two machine guns in the fuselage, along with the ability to carry one additional gun under each wing.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}
Operational history
In the spring of 1940 Latvian Air Force pilots made the first test flights of the VEF I-16 prototype. After the occupation of Latvia in June 1940, the Soviet authorities ordered that all VEF aircraft be removed from Spilve Airport and, a few weeks later, all parts fabrication and assembly work was ordered suspended pending further instructions from Moscow. In March 1941, the I-16's designer Kārlis Irbītis received orders to prepare one example each of the VEF I-12, VEF I-15a and I-15b, I-16, VEF I-17 (two variants) and VEF I-18 to be shipped to Moscow for evaluation. The I-16 still had engine problems and needed further testing, so was left behind and stayed in Riga. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the I-16 managed to make several test flights from an aerodrome in Kalnciems but soon the single example was captured by German forces and tested by the Luftwaffe. The VEF I-16 was used as training aircraft at an aviation school in Toruń until 1942.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}
Specifications (I-16)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Latvia's Little Hawk,{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=Chuck |title=Latvia's Little Hawk |journal=Air Enthusiast |date=December 1992 |issue=48 |pages=58–64 |issn=0143-5450}}and EF I-16 : LATVIA : Single-engine light fighter aircraft.{{cite web |title=VEF I-16 : LATVIA : Single-engine light fighter aircraft. |url=http://www.samoloty.ow.pl/str071.htm |website=samoloty.ow |access-date=22 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113003936/http://www.samoloty.ow.pl/str071.htm |archive-date=13 January 2010 |language=pl}}
|prime units?=met
|crew=1
|length m=7.3
|length note=
|span m=8.23
|span note=
|height m=2.7
|height note=
|wing area sqm=11.43
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=1100
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=1540-1550
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Walter Sagitta I-SR
|eng1 type=V-12 inverted air-cooled piston engine
|eng1 kw=399
|eng1 note= at 2,500 rpm at {{cvt|3800|m}}
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=Schwarz wooden fixed-pitch propeller
|prop dia m=
|prop dia note=
|max speed kmh=483
|max speed note=at {{cvt|7900|m}}
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=805
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling m=8100
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|wing loading kg/m2=136
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|power/mass={{cvt|0.220|kW/kg}}
|more performance=
|guns=2x 7.9 mm Browning machine guns
|avionics=
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|VEF I-16}}
- [http://latvianaviation.com/VEF_I-16.html VEF IRBITIS I-16] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605010544/http://latvianaviation.com/VEF_I-16.html |date=2011-06-05 }} at [http://latvianaviation.com/ LatvianAviation.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218201449/http://www.latvianaviation.com/ |date=2020-02-18 }}
- [http://airwar.ru/enc/fww2/i16l.html I-16] at [http://airwar.ru airwar.ru]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C0DdVzuUEg VEF I-16; The Latvian Lightweight], by Ed Nash's Military Matters, on youtube.com
{{VEF aircraft}}
Category:1930s Latvian fighter aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1940
Category:Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear